


Are You Well?

by WildnessBecomesYou



Category: Ratched (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/F, angst! at the grocery store, im sorry this is just angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:02:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26895649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildnessBecomesYou/pseuds/WildnessBecomesYou
Summary: Between Gwendolyn being fired and Mildred showing up to her home, Mildred spots Gwendolyn in the local grocery store.
Relationships: Gwendolyn Briggs/Mildred Ratched
Comments: 18
Kudos: 81





	Are You Well?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lifecafe](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=lifecafe).



> Requested by the lovely Lifecafe! 
> 
> Yeah I'm sorry this is just angst. Angst and misunderstandings!

Of all places, Mildred does not expect to see Gwendolyn in the grocery store. 

She doesn’t know why this is a surprise— it shouldn’t be, Gwendolyn does eat, after all— but it is. She’s never seen Gwendolyn here before. She’s not even sure that they’ve ever lived in the same area, save recent events. 

So when she does see Gwendolyn, it’s a surprise. She’s never really liked surprises. They’re rarely good, and they usually indicate worse things coming. 

So she’ll blame the fact that she hates surprises when she freezes at the sight of Gwendolyn. 

The strawberry-blonde is examining produce, fingers tracing over fruit as she considers what to pick up. She settles on a peach.

Mildred can’t stop the vision of her picking up the peach, bringing it to her lips; how the crunch of the crisp flesh would sound, the way the juices would burst against her mouth, whether she would suck in those juices or let them drip down. 

She shakes herself. She can’t be fantasizing in a grocery store, especially not a lewd fantasy like that. 

Gwendolyn settles a few peaches into the basket on her arm. Mildred takes a deep breath and walks into her line of sight. 

It doesn’t escape her that Gwendolyn’s eyes immediately find her; she knows what being watched is like. She can feel Gwendolyns gaze on her skin and it burns. She’d missed this burn, the last time she’d seen her being in the company of two men. She’d missed the way Gwendolyn could never seem to focus on one part of her. She’d never felt so desired without feeling endangered. 

But they’d hardly had time to discuss— well, anything— since Mildred had opened her past to Gwendolyn. And she was afraid. The message in Dr Hanover’s office had been clear, Gwendolyn’s eyes saying _”Don’t follow me, stay put.”_

Mildred shudders. The air isn’t cold enough to warrant it, but she shudders nonetheless. 

Honestly, she just missed the older woman. 

She hadn’t heard Gewndolyn’s voice since she denied Edmund shooting her, shifting the blame onto Dolly instead. She’d unceremoniously disappeared from the motel. (Mildred was sure she could pester Louise, but she respected Gwendolyn too much for that, and despised Louise about the same amount.) She’d neither seen, heard, nor smelled any sight of Gwendolyn. 

Having her close now felt dangerous. Having her close now felt good. 

Mildred was not used to the two feelings being so close together, not in real life. 

It doesn’t escape her that Gwendolyn hasn’t moved from where she’s standing at the fruit display. She feels good that she can hold this woman’s attention this way. It makes her feel…special. Like she means something. 

And she desperately wants to mean something to Gwendolyn, she knows that now. So she takes a deep breath and turns, pretends to spot Gwendolyn for the first time, lifts a shy hand in a silent hello. 

Gwendolyn blinks at her, looking as shocked as she feels. But she raises her own hand, and Mildred takes that as a sign to come closer. She picks up a single potato on the way— an excuse for having gone into this section of the store. 

“Hello, Mrs Briggs,” she breathes, wonders if the excitement she feels is as palpable as she thinks. 

“Hi.” 

It’s short and clipped and not exactly friendly. Mildred feels part of her heart sink. 

“I didn’t realize we frequented the same shops,” she tries again. She offers Gwendolyn a smile, but the woman keeps searching her face. She isn’t sure what Gwendolyn’s searching for. 

“No, I didn’t either,” comes the measured response. “I suppose we’ve just never been here at the same time.”

Mildred is tempted to reach out for her, rest her fingers on Gwendolyn’s arm, but she seems to be shutting down more and more every moment. She settles for speaking instead. “Well, it is delightful to see you.”

Gwendolyn blinks again, eyes skating over Mildred’s arm and to the younger woman’s basket. Bread, bologna, and…a single potato. An eyebrow arches, and Mildred almost hopes she’s about to get teased for the strange combination of things. 

A smile would do. 

“I... I should let you get back to shopping,” Gwendolyn says slowly. 

Mildred panics. She doesn’t want to let this go— she hasn’t seen Gwendolyn in what feels like forever, and what if she hates her? What if this is the last time they talk? She’s only just realized she loves Gwendolyn, and she can’t— 

She hasn’t _told_ Gwendolyn yet— 

Her hand flies out and lands on Gwendolyn’s arm. She jerks in surprise. “Are you well?” Mildred asks genuinely, her voice softened from the cheery demeanor she’d been putting on earlier. “Are you healing alright? Is there anything I can do for you?”

Gwendolyn swallows, and there’s a look in her eyes that Mildred can’t quite place. It doesn’t look sad, or angry. The closest thing Mildred can identify is disappointed. 

“No,” Gwendolyn says softly, like they’re sharing a secret, and Mildred finds herself leaning in. “No, there’s nothing you can do for me.”

Mildred wasn’t aware that words could sound like heartbreak feels. Her fingers slip from Gwendolyn’s arm. 

“My husband will be expecting me at home,” Gwendolyn says, a little louder now, swallowing and tilting her chin up ever so slightly. “Have a good night.” 

Mildred can’t bring herself to respond, and by the time she can get her mouth open at all, Gwendolyn is already gone. 

Mildred is left staring at the peaches, wondering if something has just walked out of her life.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed, even if it was a bit ouchie <3 Drop me a line below!
> 
> Edit: Ahhshdjsjdjsjd I went on a walk to the grocery store to get my weekly things and while there ran into a former classmate and y’all she was so pretty and the fact that I wrote this and then it HAPPENED TO ME


End file.
